Friday, October 21, 2005

Syrian and Lebanese governments reject Mehlis report

The Syrian and Lebanese governments have both rejected the Mehlis report.

Syria's Information Minister Mehdi Dakhlallah said: "It is a political statement against Syria that is based on a set of stories by some witnesses who are known for their anti-Syria positions, including media and political figures."

The Mehlis report complied the evidence of a series of witnesses, most based in Lebanon and a handful in Syria.

95. The structure and organization of the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services in Lebanon at the time of the blast, including protocols for reporting, shows a pervasive impact on everyday life in Lebanon. Good examples of this are documents collected from the former Syrian Intelligence post, Villa Jabr, at Bologna Forest, Lebanon and an intercepted telephone conversation between General Ghazali, head of Syrian intelligence in Lebanon, and a prominent Lebanese official on 19 July 2004, at 0945 hrs (excerpt):“Ghazali:I know it is early but I thought we should keep up you posted. The President of the Republic toldme this morning that they are two to rule the country the Prime Minister and him. He said thatthings cannot continue this way. The Prime Minister is always irritating him and we are alwaysshutting him up and yelling at him. He made it clear he cannot continue this way.(...)X: Take it easy on me. Can you appoint a new Government at this time?Ghazali: Yes we can appoint one. What could be the problem? We can name Botros Harb.(…)Ghazali: Let me tell you one thing. Let the worker’s movement take the street on the 20th in Solidere andKoraytem.X: Let’s speak it over. Take it easily. I have to take into consideration the best interests of Syrian andLebanon.Ghazali: We are keen on Syria’s best interest but I am now talking about Rafik Hariri.X: So, the decision is taken.Ghazali: I wish to tell you one thing. Whenever we need to speak to Hariri we have to suck up to him andhe does not always answer.X: To hell with him. What do I care about him?Ghazali: What do I care about him? The President can’t stand him so why should I?X: Fine, may he rot in hell …(…)Ghazali: No. Let him be the laughing stock and be pointed at as the person who ruined and indebted thecountry. Let the people take the street in Koraytem and Solidere; let the manifestations continueuntil he is forced to resign like a dog.X: What about another option. I send him a message saying: Resign God damn it.Ghazali: No, don’t send him a message or else he will say they forced me to resign. Let the street … youknow what I mean. Or else he will use this as a bargaining card with his American and Frenchmasters.X: So shall we leave things to the street?Ghazali: This is better.X: Let’s go for it.”

It is rumored that Mr. X is speaker of parliament Nabih Berri. The tape was not released at this point.

Conclusion 1"There is probable cause to believe that the decision to assassinate former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, could not have been taken without the approval of topranked Syrian security official and could not have been further organized without the collusion of their counterparts in the Lebanese security services."

I suppose that we should also have probable cause to believe that the FBI or CIA approved 9/11 or MI5/MI6 approved the July bombings of the London Underground. Because noplanning could have possibly taken place without thier knowledge.

And if you say that Syria is a police state and has super powerful intelligence in the territory it controls, then how can you explain the Sharm El-Shaikh bombings in Egypt, were the Egyptians in on it?...or the series of terrorist attacks in Saudi...were the royals planning those?!And this guy is supposed to be a prosecutor!!??

Conclusion 2"Through the constant wire-tapping of Mr. Hariri’s telephone lines, the Syrian and Lebanese security and intelligence services were kept informed of his movements and contacts."

And I suppose the great democracies of the west were above tapping there political rivals i.e. Nixon.

Conclusion 3"The issue of whether there was excavation in front of the St. George Hotel remains an open question that the Commission has not been able to resolve beyond certain witnesses’ recollections which have not been independently substantiated. Municipal records do appear to make clear, however, that excavation close to the time of the crime was not carried out pursuant to city permits."

Funnily, all of the forensic teams agree that the bombing was above ground and the report itself makes that conclusion later on, so why is this conspiracy theorists bombshell left in?????

Conclusion 4:"It would not have been difficult for individuals outside of Hariri’s “inner circle” to predict the route that his convoy would follow on 14 February 2005. The Mitsubishi Canter van shown on the HSBC bank CCTV security system was the carrier of the explosives. The negligence of the Lebanese authorities to undertake proper investigative measures and a full-scale professional crime scene examination immediately after the blast has made it difficult to resolve key questions regarding the execution of the bombing, such as the type of explosive used, or may have resulted in the potential loss of important evidence, such as useful CCTV videos."

Again with the heavy hinting at the conspiracy of syria and lebanon officials. although the report clearly states earlier:"It is common knowledge that major mistakes were made in the course of conducting the investigation, among which the leaking of information that created confusion. This in turn compromised the trustworthiness of the local investigation." So major mistakes were some how construed as conspiratorial acts?!?!

Conclusion 5:"The investigation of the prepaid telephone cards is one of the most important leads in this investigation in terms of who was actually on the ground executing theassassination. This is a line of investigation that needs to be pursued thoroughly."

DUH! but it only leads to fundementalists... lets leave it for now.

Conclusion 6:"It appears that the jamming devices in Hariri’s convoy were operational and functional on 14 February at the time of the blast. Further investigation may provide information about how the IED was activated."

Should have said that, it appears that a suicide bomber was responsible for the attack. but bold letters would not have played well in DC...

Conclusion 7 DITTO

Conclusion 8:"The explosion that killed Mr. Hariri and 22 others took place above ground. For this purpose, an amount of no less than 1000 kilgrams of military explosives was used."

Strangely, this is the only sentence with the use of the phrase "military explosives" everywhere else it states TNT or high explosives... very strange!!!

Conclusion 9:"There is no evidence that Mr. Abu Adass belonged to the group al nasra wal-jihad fee bilad Al-Sham as claimed in the Al-Jazeera videotape, nor even that such a group has ever existed or does exist now. There are no indications (other than the videotape) that he drove a truck containing the bomb that killed Hariri. The evidence does show that it is likely that Mr. Abu Adass left his home on 16 January 2005 and was taken, voluntarily or not, to Syria, where he has since disappeared."

Pretty conclusive conclusion, without much evidence or investigation. And limited if any real evidence that Mr. Abu Adass is/was in Syria.... it seems more likely that he is in a shallow grave in the North of Lebanon than anywhere else.

MY CONCLUSION:

It seems that Mr. Mehlis has something else going on, maybe if we look into his prosectorial history... oh yes, Berlin Disco bombing... which he managed to pin on Syria... but the Americans bombed Libya for... so which is it?... maybe he and the americans can agree this time on who to blame.

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Written by sasa

From Damascus, Syria

From Damascus to London via Beirut. Based in and out of the central Damascene hamlet of Saroujah.
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